The Three Bandits
by LilMissWitch7
Summary: The life of most residents of the city of HalloweenTown is boring and monotonous. But, for the inseparable trinity of bandits - Lock, Shock and Barrel, it is full of adventures! A translated version of an original Russian fanfic dedicated to my friend @witch shock!
1. Chapter 1

Important Author's Note: HELLO EVERYONE I am back from the dead! It has been ages, (literally) since I have uploaded anything! I originally published a Lock Shock and Barrel fanfiction at least 4 years ago, (damn) and I guess it's becoming full circle as I am back on this account yet again, writing another story for you all! But this time, I have a special entry that sparked my inspiration to come back.

-THIS IS NOT MY FANFICTION-. This lovely and entertaining piece of work is created by @witch_shock on Instagram. She is a creative mind like myself, and this is her work! Please go to her account and credit her for the original story! She has a Russian translation of this story on Ficbook /readfic/5166607/13699918#part_content

I did not create this amazing story, sadly! XD That is how much I like it. However, this version of the story brought to you was adapted and translated to English by me. The creator of this story is Russian , and she needs her story to be shared to the world and not just in Russia! I hope you all enjoy this story as much as she enjoyed making it and I enjoyed translating it.

Chapter 1.

Behind tightly intertwined branches of black, like a burning in a fire of trees, is Halloweentown - a terrible and dark place. Despite the fact that its inhabitants belong to the holiday, full of sweets, fun and jokes. In the gray days, everyone tries to find the same gray and gloomy occupation as they themselves.

They definitely do not miss those monsters who have children. This is usually honored in Halloweentown for a monster to have a child, but at the same time it's not so easy to get along with, for the child can be a nuisance to the community. So every self-respecting parent of this city does everything to get rid of their annoying child as soon as possible. And where to send it?

Call this place whatever you want - a kindergarten or a school, but everyone in the town knows that the parents leave their children there under the supervision of "experienced" educators. There, the child can not only "play the fool", but also learn something.

Although, children certainly do not care about reading or acquiring skills... All they ever care about is frightening others and demanding sweets. After all, in Halloweentown you can play with venomous snakes and spiders, run alongside prickly bushes, ravines, and so on ... in general, the whole experience is complete "security".

But most often, all of the students behaved calmly. In this boring place every child tried to lick up to a teacher who, for her good behavior, gave candies to the right (the well behaved kids) and to the left (the not so well behaved.)

They had to play quiet games; behave not very noisily... In order not to interfere with the teacher to sleep, of course. The only pleasure in this institution the kids seemed to have was to tease those who behaved badly. It's unpleasant that they make fun of you, but you cannot take revenge, because your soul is ready to receive the seemingly false reward and praise, if they didn't make fun of you later. Despite all of this, there were those students that were neutral who ignored all of that classroom drama. Students for whom Halloween was like to them every day; pranks and hooliganism - the occupation of all life there was to them.

A boy, four years old in appearance and wearing a red devil-like suit, barely kept pace with his mother, who walked with wide confident steps. Finally, she stopped at a low fence.

"Come," said the woman in a black robe, very similar in appearance to her son, who was about to run to a friend and flashed among the crowd of children rudely.

He didn't even say goodbye to his mother, as if he didn't care about her at all.

Seeing that the devil was about to flee, the woman grabbed him by a very long tail and as he turned to her, she sternly said:

"Just try again today to do something!" I'll hear one more complaint out of your mouth and you'll stay without candy forever!"

" All right," he muttered annoyingly and tried to escape, but the "escape" failed.

"I did not finish!" exclaimed the mother of the devil. "Lock, if you communicate with this stupid "Barrel", I will not let you out of the house. Do not disgrace our family. Have you seen his parents? It's just an ugly sight, and their offspring is even worse!"

"I understand," Lock said discontentedly, without even arguing... it was useless.

Barrel, who was a skeleton, or a zombie (his friend didn't even know it himself), was the boy that Lock had met a week ago, on Halloween.

Though it was silly, at a first chance of meeting each other, their friendship was obvious. They decided that they would be best friends forever.

Grunting, and without another word, Lock's mother retired.

Being too arrogant and stuck-up, she never liked Lock either.

Lock's parents even decided to flee from Barrel and his parents and live independently, because Barrel's ancestors were "definitely not better" in their eyes. They were so selfish that they even forgot that they had a son.

In short, parents in this city were not much concerned with children, as were the parents' children. Each of them could go anywhere at any time, and neither side would care. But for some reason, many kids still continue to listen to their parents and allow themselves something fun and interesting only for the holiday that came every year.

Of course, at first glance it may seem that no one feels any friendship or other familiar feelings and things in this city. However, it is not. Even this is not uncommon here.

Lock happily ran past the teacher, who did not even notice him because she was asleep, passing by the children who fled in different directions at the sight of him, and then, with a running start, dived into the bushes.

Not noticing that his friend Barrel was hiding there, Lock flew at him, and together they suddenly laughed and rolled down the hill, which hid behind the bushes, and then with a thud, fell onto the bare ground.

"Well, you gave up on the first day didn't you!" exclaimed Barrel.

" I just didn't have time to slow down. It's not so easy to just notice who sits in the bushes!" Justified Lock, who sat up with a slightly annoyed look on his face.

"Why are you hiding in there anyway?" He asked, helping his friend to get up.

"Someone remembered yesterday's rally..." Barrel explained, hinting about the sports tournament that the stronger kids played involving throwing the opposite team across the field. It was a violent game.

"Idiots," said Lock, looking around.

"I wonder what kind of place it is? We haven't actually been here yet."

Barrel followed Lock's trail and began to look around. But all around, the area was covered with fog, and you could not see anything beyond your nose.

"I can't see anything in this fog..." Barrel frowned. "Hmm...We need to examine everything in more detail. Take a stick," said Lock, lifting a long branch that lay not far away from them. "What for?" asked Barrel.

But Lock did not have time to answer, because someone behind them chuckled loudly. Because of the fog, it was impossible to see, but they both could tell that this someone was standing on a rock.

"Who are you?.." Lock asked between a mix of fear and curiosity.

The unknown figure jumped neatly from his "pedestal".

It turned out that it was a girl. She looked at the boys with displeasure.

"What, have you forgotten?" For some reason, she asked offendedly, like she wanted them to answer differently or as if they had met her before, when they hadn't seen this wacky-looking girl in their life.

She looked very funny. It was a witch with a long purple hat. This incredible headdress was above the mistress several times her size.

"What is this, your kingdom?" Lock asked with a sneer.

"Oh, maybe it IS mine!" Said the witch confidently.

"Well, it's kinda not a good idea to arrange it under the hill. Uncomfortable. And what's your hat for?" The devil grinned, waving his tail.

"On your head, you idiot." "-MY CROWN!" snapped the girl.

"But you're not a princess, you're a- a wi-" started Barrel.

"Get out of here!!!" The girl retorted.

"Wait," said Barrel, remembering that he had already seen this girl somewhere. "So it was you, last week, that threw a clapper in lunch at the teacher?" He slowly grinned.

"And what do you care?! Something too obvious to make fun of me for!?" She then became completely upset and turned away from them.

"What do you mean?? We got here accidentally!" cried Barrel.

"And about your stunt? It's just ... We liked it." Lock suddenly said, realizing that no one had taken her here at this school either. "You thought up a great deal! It was actually entertaining!"

"You didn't even go here then." said the girl, still a bit upset and not gaining their trust. "A couple of days ago I came...Remember?" Whispered Barrel, But Lock just waved it off.

" Wait... Is it true? You actually liked it?" the witch did not believe it and turned towards them.

"Yeah," Lock exclaimed cheerfully and held out his hand to the girl. "Um..Lock.." Barrel whispered again.

The devil nudged his friend in the ribs.

"Sorry," Barrel grumbled unhappily, rubbing the sore spot.

"It's settled then," the witch smiled, exposing her sharp teeth. She glanced at the outstretched hand and squeezed it incredulously, accepting their acquaintance.

"My name is Shock by the way." She said, still with a wicked smile.

"Wait, Shock ,didn't you scare all the guys out yesterday?" Barrel asked.

"Hmph. What's the difference?" Without Shock giving Lock an answer, Barrel would have been into trouble once again for asking something he shouldn't have.

"And, can you not ask??" Shock retorted back, becoming offended once again.

"Do you always answer a question with a question?" Inquired Lock with a smile, who was amused by the offended voice of the new acquaintance, no less than her hat.

"Well, do you?" understanding what the boy was getting at, Shock smiled back impudently.

Barrel then said, "Well... I want to offer you something."

"Partnership?" the witch kept grinning. "Because cleverly enough, your "gang" is clearly not enough for me."

"Oh, so! .." Now Barrel was the one getting angry. This girl was already starting to annoy him with her impudence. However, Lock didn't let him continue or worsen the conversation any further .

"I want to offer my friendship!" Barrel suddenly blurted out. Perhaps it was worth the hard work to say. Firstly, he never said such things, especially to girls. He was sure that she would refuse, especially judging by the last phrase, which even spoiled their first impression ... However, Lock somehow decided to trust him.

Shock, in turn, was delighted by this offer because she did not have any friends. She was tired of constantly wandering all alone in this city. And here, two friends, and possibly lovers...are the same as her.

"I accept the offer, but only if you stop pouting for me," said Shock, smiling as she approached Barrel. "And how old are you, by the way? I'm 5!"

"I'm 3," said Barrel. His huge smile lit up his face again when Shock gave him a candy, which she took out of her dress pocket.

"I'm 4. And, Shock, I'll be the leader here, don't you agree?" said Lock Devilishly .

"'Will you command us?'" Here's another show-off!" said Shock indignantly.

"Eh, I'm not a show-off all the time. And why not listen to someone other than yourself?" Snapped Lock.

"And i'm not weak!" Exclaimed Shock with enthusiasm. "But we will come back to this... In the meantime, let's not fight for once in out lives! ...After all, we're Three of a Kind..."

"Birds of a Feather!" Barrel picked up, catching the eye of his friends.

"Now and Forever!" Shouted Lock.

All three children laughed playfully at this remark.

"Hey you! Come up from there!" The screeching voice of the teacher came from somewhere in one of the tall building's windows. The Trinity looked up in confusion.

"Hey you two, did you forget you weren't supposed to make a noise?" Shock said and laughed mockingly along with Lock and Barrel. "And now ...we are outta here!" she shouted and waved at the nearby hill and all the judging students looking down at her with malice.

"And it'll be real fun!" said Lock, laughing as he ran away with Shock.

"Yeah!!! Bye idiots!!!" Agreed Barrel, catching up with them.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

We all notice time and again that time passes very quickly, if we do not hold it in anticipation.

In a city called Halloweentown, everyone lives from holiday to holiday, so it usually seems that time flows well, very slowly, but not for those who spend it in care.

Lock, Shock and Barrel did not even notice that it was several months ago after their first meeting.

All this time, the trio lived together and "roamed" from one place to another. After they ran away from their parents, life seemed to be harder, considering that they were still very young children. In turn, they thought that there were no serious problems that came with this.

Firstly, they were now free and independent of their parents, who, of course, started looking for them, but without much luck. Secondly, to spend the night in a cold cave or a crypt and steal food from an unsuspecting monster was easy.

It was even easier to escape than they thought, at least for Lock and Barrel. But for Shock, as she put it, there were problems. There were no consequences for the future. After leaving the house, she could no longer learn what witches should know: fly on a broom, cook potions, etc. However, Shock concluded that she herself will be able to learn everything in time, so this issue quickly exhausted itself.

"We need to think about permanent housing," reminded Shock who was being the brains of the group, sitting on the bare ground on one of the windy, rainy and especially cold days. "Maybe we should find a house where no one lives at?" Suggested Barrel.

"There is one place I know about," Lock answered thoughtfully, who, with Barrel, was trying to warm himself, rubbing his hands. "In general, I have this one idea, but maybe it won't work. Although, I have thought about this for a long time."

"Well..?" Shock prodded.

"What if we live with someone who has a house? Maybe he needs helpers?" Lock insisted.

"It's a good idea, but I hope that you don't mean Halloweentown residents ... they hate us, remember ..." Barrel groaned.

By the way, for "finding freedom", Lock, Shock and Barrel were no longer limited to small rallies with their peers. Now they had been messing with almost every inhabitant of the city, so in the meantime, many have learned about them as local hooligans and, to put it mildly ... disliked them.

"Of course not. The guy I'm talking about is the guy everyone in Halloweentown is afraid of ... "Lock smirked, imagining the reaction of his friends when he said that.

"Don't say it ..." Shock started.

"You don't mean..." Barrel said nervously.

"The Boogeyman."

"THE BOOGEYMAN ?!" Cried Shock and Barrel. They did not expect this at all.

The land of the Boogeyman was known to many children and adults. Many terrible things were told about him and his past. Everyone was afraid of him, so what Lock offered was sure to inflict real madness.

"You understand that this can be dangerous! You know, I wouldn't risk it. For starters, we could at least learn more about it ... " noted the witch.

"But Shock ..." Lock ran to his friend, grabbed her by the shoulder, and raised the other hand dreamily showing somewhere into the distance, suddenly said:

"... Just imagine: we will become the best gang in the city, we will work for the most terrible villain. We can do what we want, and let them just try to tell us something..."

The witch tried to free herself, but the devil grabbed her so tightly with his tail that she could not move. Being in a hopeless situation, Shock simply did not remain silent...

"It'll be like heaven coming down to earth..."

Suddenly, Shock's pointed witch boot came stomping down on the end of Lock's tail.

"... AH! Are you that stupid ?!" Shouted Lock, letting out of the "embrace" of Shock and examining his tail, to which she had just hit.

The witch smiled self-satisfiedly, ignoring the curses that flew in her direction from Lock:

"'Come down from heaven to earth.' Not on my watch! This Boogeyman, if you will, can make candy out of us, and turn your brains into rot for juice!! The probability is that he might need helpers, but it is not high! And if he does accept us, what is the price of this!?"

"And in my opinion, you're just afraid!" Lock shot back.

"What? I'm not afraid of anything!" Shock argued.

"Well, then, we're going to him right now!" Lock stretched his blue lips into a grin.

"N-now?" Barrel asked, afraid.

"You're such a coward, like her." Lock said to Barrel, mainly to anger Shock .

"Alright then, Let's go now!" Shock demanded, proving her courage to Lock.

"But we don't know where he lives," said Barrel, who until this point had not dared to face the argument. He generally tried not to do it ... he did not want to die as a child.

"Maybe you don't know, but I do." Lock said bravely.

"Where then?" Both Barrel and Shock asked.

"Walking away from home is always more interesting," the devil spread his hands.

The refuge of the Boogeyman was outside the city, so it took a long time to get there.

"And how long will we have to go on like this? It's raining," retorted Shock, who was lagging behind her friends as they climbed the hill.

"I agreed to go myself today," Lock reminded her.

"And you suggested it to us, which is true. However, you did not say how far away the Boogeyman lives." Shock argued back.

"And you did not ask. So I'm not guilty." Lock turned away with a smirk. "And most of all, Shock, stop whining".

Shock glared back.

Cursing this idiot, the Boogeyman, the rain, the city, the trees, the rocks and everything that met along the way, Shock wanted to hasten the step, but stumbled. This eternal problem with her boots, which had a long sock, annoyed her. Although she was used to them, it was difficult to walk in such shoes. She could not go faster, because the prospect of lying on the dirty and wet land did not suit her.

"We're almost there!" Look!" Lock shouted, pointing to the outline of something that looked like a house when they were atop a hill.

They quickly went up the hill bank and ran to the house.

"Imagine if it works out, then we'll be The Boogeyman's henchmen!The whole city will start to fear us!" Lock dreamed again.

"We'll finally have our own house!" Barrel rejoiced.

"It would not hurt to improve it ..." said Shock slowly.

"You're a bore," Lock said. She snorted back.

"Who will knock?" Barrel asked.

"Lock," the witch said immediately with a grin.

"Shock!" the devil said at the same time as Barrel.

"Why do you think I should do it!?" Lock snapped, turning to Shock. "You are our boss. Forgot?" Shock replied.

"But you're older."

"It does not change anything!"

"It changes everything!"

"And i'm not! It was not my idea to work for the Boogeyman, but yours. So you have to talk to him, But I guess you're just afraid, when you pretend to be brave. But in fact, you can't prove that you're brave! Are you weak, Lock?"

"Am I too weak to you?!" Lock became angry and strongly pushed Shock, for which he almost immediately got a hurtful slap on the back in return. He wanted to take revenge on her, and she was ready to paint his face in blood at the first opportunity, but they were distracted by a knock. They turned at once. Barrel stood near the entrance to the house. He knocked on it. Forgetting about the quarrel, Lock and Shock looked puzzled. Behind the door there was some kind of noise. Barrel hurriedly approached Lock and Shock, who were frightenedly pressed against each other, and hid behind their backs.

When the door opened, the Boogeyman came outside. He looked like two dirty sacks that were casually sewn together. Where there should have been a face, there were dark holes that appeared to be his eyes and mouth.

"Who dares to disturb me so late ?!" The bag began to look around.

"We're here," Shock screeched in fear, hiding behind Lock.

The Boogeyman looked down, because he did not notice them at first considering their height.

"What are you doing here, little ones? Do you not know who I am and what I can do with you ?!" He Threatened .

"We know. Believe me, we ... we did not want to interfere. "Lock stepped forward, looking back at Shock, who, holding Barrel to herself, looked at her other friend with some surprise and admiration. "That's why they came . Do you need helpers? We...know how to do a lot of things!"

Lock could argue with Shock's hat that the Boogeyman was surprised at how easily he asked it. The bag was reflected: it had an eternal mess, which was necessary to catch beetles and city dwellers who long ago expelled it, for certain dwellers have ceased to frighten it in the name of children. And it's time to remind everyone who knows of his presence that he is still alive. After all, it's true that his assistants would not ever let him down. For some reason, he had only now thought about it.

"Perhaps I need them," said the Boogeyman calmly. When he did not shout, his voice was very pleasant. "You'll be cleaning up, catching beetles for me, spying on the people of the city ... but what do you want in return?" He asked, remembering that he was dealing with the children of HalloweenTown, and they did nothing for nothing.

"A place where we can live," said Shock, which was still scary, but, perhaps not as much as a few minutes ago.

"Some kind of weapon," Lock added softly.

"Lollipops!!" Barrel shouted joyfully, which Immediately released from the arms of Shock to give him a slap.

"What have I done ?!"

"Why are you yelling, and you asked too much, we'll get them ourselves if anything!" the witch hissed.

The Boogeyman laughed.

"Calm down, girl, I got all this. You'll live in the attic, there's a gun somewhere. Every day I will ask what I ask. And if I say that I want to see you, then you will come to me. Do you understand?"

"Yes," They all said.

"Do not do what I said ..." He said with a wink, as if to play reverse psychology on them.

"We won't, Mr. Boogeyman," the trio nodded obediently.

"Now, What are your names?"

"Lock."

"Shock!"

"Barrel."

"Well, you can call me simply Oogie Boogie. Now go. On the other hand, there is an "elevator" that will lift you up."

He vanished.

The trio went around the house. From the side leading to the city, there really was an "elevator" ... that is, a cage on a rope. It was hanging right over some abyss. Obviously, Oogie Boogie lived there, and the door they talked in front of a few minutes ago was the entrance to the room that was in this abyss, under the attic.

Barrel was running around the new house with a lollipop in his hand.

Lock examined the weapons that he had found inside the treehouse. Beside him, Shock herself was chattering incessantly, and was surprisingly still in "shock" from the events that had happened to them.

Now, the chirping of the witch did not at all bother Lock, on the contrary - he liked it.

"I already thought you were going to give up! But you so confidently asked if he needed helpers, and he fell silent, I thought that everything was for sure that we wouldn't make it out alive, but when he said yes, I was so happy ...-" she stopped to breathe. Lock turned; he thought that she was already suffocating.

"T-thank you, to put it short.." the witch hesitated for a second, and then quickly hugged him and ran to the door of a small room. There were only two there.

Now Lock was in "shock ..."

"Lock, this will be my room," said Shock, reminding him that a certain section was her territory alone. "I'm sleeping for now, assholes." she slammed the door.

Lock rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Barrel!"

"What?" He asked, jumping on the old and dusty couch.

"You'll spend the night in this room, on the couch. Gotta give you credit, man. It's the largest. And I'm upstairs."

"Okay." Barrel casually replied with a smile. He didn't really mind it. "And let's not sleep all night?"

"Yeah," Lock agreed, and tossed Barrel something like a wooden sword. "Just don't yell so loud that the Queen doesn't wake up this coven."

"I can hear everything!" Came the thin voice of the witch from the other room.

The devil grinned and also picked up some weapons.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3.

"Well, show me, what does yours look like?" It was already the hundredth time that Lock distracted Shock from the occupation, which, according to the witch, required special concentration.

"Get behind me, Lock. I want my mask to look normal, and not as horrible as yours..." the witchy hooligan remarked , dipping her brush into the pale green paint.

"Oh, yeah, I just can't wait!!! Just kidding, I'm not that interested. Anyway, show me."

"You can obviously see it from here! How many times have you asked me to show it?! Go and bother Barrel or something. And do not bother me! I'll let you bother me later."

"Alright," Lock surrendered and retired, grumbling about witches, the complex nature of girls and all the difficulties of living with them. She looked back at him curtly and rolled her eyes, and a second later she continued to decorate her creation. This undertaking with masks has repeatedly exasperated her, although Lock constantly persuaded Shock that no one in the city has seen something quite like this before and that they could prank them good with this kind of stuff, which is so much more fun to think about, yet she still did not share his enthusiasm - art was too much of a time-consuming process, especially if you are a perfectionist.

An hour later, Shock shouted at last having finished, and hid the work of her labor behind her back.

Lock and Barrel, pushing, ran into the room with their masks, just holding them behind their backs.

"Well, let's see.One, two ... eeee ..." Barrel thought about it.

"Three!"

"Oh, uh...three."

They all synchronously showed their masks.

"Wow, they turned out great! Wouldn't you two agree..?" Said Shock, smiling.

"Oh, it's looking great, and it looks like you had enough material for your nose," Lock said with a giggle, hoping that she would be offended. He really liked to irritate his "girlfriend," perhaps in order to listen to her indignant squeals, screams and touchy tone. It was worth it all, because such jokes lead to the fact that the bruises and curses of their future fights wouldn't happen as violently . Tough love was the key with Shock when she didn't want to show affection at all.

"Oh, Lock, did you have enough material for the nonexistent horns?" Shock pretended to say in the most fake and savory sweet voice she could muster.

"Don't even hit me and sit on me? I dare you." Lock was genuinely surprised at Shock's attitude, that it was the only response he could think of.

"The ladies do not pay attention to the stupid boys," said the witch, smoothing her hat with a smug expression.

"Lady?" You? Ha! Well, if you're a lady, then I'm Dr. Finkelstein."

The devil struck Barrel in the shoulder playfully, who was calmly standing on the sideline, thereby inviting him to agree with him. Barrel shuddered with surprise and also burst into loud laughter. Shock looked at them disapprovingly, and then, wishing to close this topic, applied the most effective method ...

"AGH! AGAIN?! I told you not to step on my tail, idiot!"

"Well it wasn't necessary to laugh!!!" Shock shot back at him.

"Well it seems that some people say that "ladies do not argue with stupid boys..." Lock mocked her.

"But remember, ladies don't start a fight, they finish it!" said Shock, making it clear that further attempts to drive her out of herself will be ignored.

"I'm a lady, I'm a lady...Blah blah blah..." Lock continued to spew his insults at Shock regardless of what she felt.

"I hate to remind everyone who easily forgot about this, but by the way, we wanted to discuss our plan today...?" Shock started , trying to get off the subject of Lock's argument.

"Aw, right!" Lock slapped himself on the forehead. How could he forget ?! After all, they planned this plan for the last three weeks. It was supposed to be the most henious of all than they had ever thought up before.

"So. We'll go through the plan once more, " said Shock, taking a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket, on which there was something scrawled with black coal. The boys flopped down on the floor, preparing to listen ... and, it is possible to say, it was required, or rather, if Shock would allow it ... because when she sets out the plan of action, it is always forbidden to touch her plan. She always thinks through everything and organizes herself, and you absolutely cannot deprive her of this. Why? Because she decided that. Because she's a girl ... and a witch. That says it all.

"Tonight, all residents will be discussing preparations for Halloween. But our goal here is the Mayor, Sally, Dr. Finkelstein, the witches, the vampires and of course Jack, or rather: their stuff... All will be gathered in the main square, and in the meantime we will steal everything that is on the other list ... Lock! List Please!

The devil jumped, getting his own, unwrapping its tube scroll and stretching the cover. Impatient, The witch grabbed it and unfolded it. There were different figures in it, which went in order.

"What do we have here ... Umbrellas, brooms, the inventions of Doctor Finkelstein, Sally's things ..." Shock snapped, poking her finger at numerous dots, squares and other figures.

"No, This is Sally's stuff, not Dr. Finkelstein's!" Said Lock, pointing to the curve of the triangle.

"Is it? We agreed to that on the construction!"

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yep, yep."

"Nope."

"What's the difference?!" Barrel burst in.

"Aah ... And what difference are you talking about?" Shock offered. "Our plans said there was none, really."

Barrel shrugged his shoulders, and Shock looked at Lock with displeasure. "What kind of Jack are you threatening me with at such an important moment ?!"

"But Shock, you can't write, and here is where we are confused."

"I told you I was studying literature!"

"Wow! Really!?"

"I'm thinking it all over, so you're still a little bit to blame. YES!?"

"Yes! I-I mean..."

"Oh, so then ?!"with that, Shock stamped her foot and turned away.

"And that's what it means ... then ..." the devil said and turned away, too.

"Hey, if you guys continue to argue, we'll never get our shit together!" poor Barrel concluded.

Now Barrel got into the argument at his own peril and risk, because in the moments of his comrades' quarreling, who rewarded the other with a look full of desire for an early death, were capable of anything, but he was so eager to finally do what they had planned, that he was ready to take the risk.

"Indeed," Shock said suddenly, in a calm voice, again occupying a place on the dirty floor. "Let's go faster, otherwise we will not have enough time...we'll have more instruments to collect."

"Yeah ... okay, what are we talking about? Exactly ... the vampire umbrellas, the witches' broomsticks, the new inventions of Doctor Finkelstein, the threads, the needles, Sally's sleeping pills, the Speaker of the Mayor and ... it seems we got everything planned." Lock stated.

"What about Jack?" Barrel asked.

"Yes, we've already said that a hundred times," the devil grunted angrily.

"Actually, one," the witch said reproachfully.

"Never mind. It was necessary to remember the first time."

"Jack ordered some invention from Finkelstein," she began again, ignoring Lock's displeased mutterings. "It's important for both the doctor and Jack. He himself said that it would be something special, so we will steal one item, but, count both of them."

"Aah ...now I understand," Barrel smiled. Shock nodded meaningfully as she went along, thinking that she would sort all of their problems out later.

"We still need to tell Oogie that we're leaving. Suddenly he needs to know where we are at all times," Lock said annoyed.

"Yes," Barrel agreed. "Then, I collect everything, and you go to him." Said Shock.

"Why are we both going at once?"

"Because, lately, I've been constantly reporting to him. Now, time for our "Hour of Reckoning," Shock said with a smile.

"Ooh, 'The hour of reckoning.' Okay guys, count down the minutes 'cause we're lucky." Lock smirked and grabbed Shock by the sleeve, knocking Barrel at the same time as they headed for the "elevator ".

When the city was enveloped in pitch darkness and the full moon peered out from behind the clouds, illuminating the main square on which nearly all the inhabitants of HalloweenTown crowded, three shadows slipped from their house towards the city. Moving quietly as the trio originally had planned did not work, but all because Lock and Barrel every minute started a meaningless dispute, and Shock, the one carrying a bag with all the instruments, resented and complained.

"And I say, the rope ladder would be useful to us!" Barrel declared again confidently.

"We took the Elevator, why should we use something extra?! The last time we used that thing, We had Me and Shock and your candy, and we still didn't have enough stairs!" Lock replied hastily.

"But it would be more convenient with her!" Barrel replied, referencing Shock being a witch with powers, magically carrying all of his stuff.

"Actually, I would still have to carry it either way, but you two are weaklings, and even with our elevator you can't help! I'm tired after all!" Exclaimed Shock in the most nasty voice that only was able to annoy both of them. Lock shut his ears to not hear this damn witch . At such moments, her voice particularly annoyed him. As soon as she finished speaking, he said discontentedly:

"Enough yapping! I'm not a weakling ... let's get a bag here."

"No, I'd better take it, I'm not a weakling anyway," Barrel emerged from nowhere, clinging to the sack that Shock still held in her hands.

"No! I! - You drop that sack Right Now!"shouted the devil, also grabbing for the sack.

They pulled the sack on each other until, without restraining, dropped it directly on Shock's leg, with Shock all this time just looking at the debaters, forgetting to step aside.

"Hey! What are you doing, idiots!" She squealed, pressing her bruised leg against her, jumping on the other.

"You moron, what have you done?" Lock, forgetting how he wanted to strangle Shock a few minutes ago, ran up to her and grabbed her by the leg, inspecting for significant damage, which caused her to lose balance and crash.

"The moron himself," Barrel rolled his eyes, then took offense, also running up to his friend, seeing how she had just gracefully kissed the earth with their help.

"You're both assholes," she hissed, now having a backache.

The boys helped her up.

"Can't you walk though?" Lock asked without much interest.

" You're lucky that yes, I can, because otherwise, you would have left me without legs! " the witch screamed at him, intending to pass by confidently, showing that she did not need help. But after making a step, she nearly fell again, if not for Lock and Barrel, who cleverly caught her.

"So Barrel, you're carrying the sack, and I'm Shock, telling you what to do this time!" the devil commanded, raising an indignant witch who wanted to protest, but realized that it was useless to do it, because they already lost a lot of time.

"HEY, don't hold it, it hurts!" She said nervously, although she did not feel any pain at all. Now she felt humiliated and stupid, which she didn't like at all, so she was annoyed because of every little thing.

"Yeah yeah, shut up already. Seriously, it would be better to drag a sack - not so heavy, and doesn't yell when you move it..." Lock muttered back.

"Then let go," snapped Shock, but immediately regretted it, as the blow to the ground again made her fall on her back.

"Look..." Shock pointed to their first destination, freed from the "burdened" hands of Lock. "House of Vampires." He walked over to the sack and began to rummage around in search of the necessary supplies, and in the meantime, Shock got up and took a knife from her boot (she always carried it there), easily opening the door to the house. The fun fact to the trio was that almost all of the entrance doors in the city have never been locked, it was only worthwhile to slam the door so that it slammed shut and it was seized ... then security is ensured. In general, all decent citizens always rang the bell, and only those three were considered indecent, and since they were most often restricted to pranks in the city itself, nobody worried about the houses. So, this current carelessness of the inhabitants is now very convenient.

The bandits entered the house. There was a monstrous and unusual order for them, which, with a curious glance, they began to work.

"Come on, we'll search. Barrel, go upstairs, and you stay here," Shock told her devilish companion, standing with one foot on a spiral narrow staircase. They nodded to each other and began to rummage through the cupboards and drawers that were filled with books, black robes, jars of liquids and ...

"Oooh, the potion of eternal youth," whispered shock with a twinkle in her eyes when she opened the drawer, in which even rows contained potions with labels depicting a young vampire, with a character that was uncharacteristic of these creatures, who appeared shiny, and had long hair. About what kind of brew it was, she understood not only the label.

Her mother - the owner of the Witch shop, in which potions were sold for every taste, color, and purpose, spent six months of the longest days and nights preparing this - the most complex elixir, telling her daughter about the skill and industriousness to possess in order to weld at least one such a bottle, how long it takes to learn. Only now Shock did not want to learn at all, she liked to just watch the process of preparing a potion, collecting and selecting ingredients. She easily remembered the visible and invisible details, and she still tried to teach herself to read the books and plant tooth-grind. That's why she did everything against teachers and her own mother, that's why she was considered the worst and incapable of learning anything right... The witch sniffed and sighed, knowing this should not have worried her ... nonsense ... she would learn herself. She carefully took one bottle and looked at it carefully.

"Hey, Shock!" Barrel's voice was heard from above, which caused the bottle to drop out of Shock's hand by surprise. "We found it, come here!"

The witch rose from the floor and put the potion in her pocket. When she went upstairs, Lock and Barrel already got umbrellas, and in place of them they put firecrackers, which were activated if they were pulled by a stick.

"Well, this will be fun... They will return in the morning, out of habit, grab for their precious umbrellas and ... Boom! Surprise!" exclaimed Lock, cunningly rubbing his hands.

"Yeah!" Shouted Barrel. "And we'll return their precious umbrellas...only for sweets."

"Aha!" Their plan was supported by the merriment of Shock . "For their whole stash!"

They jumped joyfully and quickly headed for the exit.

"Here it is!" Shouted Lock, pointing to the tall, oblique and shaky mansion that belonged to the two witches.

"For this one, I'll go alone.." Shock said, taking two firecrackers that were inadvertently disguised as brooms.

"And why is that?"

"Because, it makes no sense to be dragged in there all together. I'll just run, quickly replace the broomsticks with firecrackers and come back. Suddenly, magic will happen ... Especially since witches almost always move with the help of a broomstick, I do not think that this time they will forget about them..." She said with a cackle.

"Do we have to check this out now? We don't have much time left..." said Lock.

"Not for you guys. The Brooms are kept on the top floor, on the balcony. From there you can't see, you still have to climb. It's easier for me to do it."

"Okay, let's at least try." Barrel said with an assuring smile.

"Just hurry." Lock reminded her. "I told you, I'll do it quickly. I'll be back soon," she waved her hand at the duo and opened the door, disappearing from view.

Entering the mansion, Shock looked around and ... Became confused. Now she remembered what secrets were hidden in the witches' house. They had a lot of stairs and corridors; you could even move upside down. It seemed that there was an ideal order here, but in fact everything lived according to its own laws.

"How can I get to the balcony quickly?" She asked the emptiness of the room, carefully examining each object. "There is in fact something that will help to do this ... I know it, but I just forgot." Suddenly, her eyes lingered on the brick that protruded in the wall.

"How stupid I am!" the witch struck herself on the forehead and immediately shut her eyes, frightened of her own voice, which echoed throughout the rooms. She quickly ran to the wall and pushed the brick; it opened a passage, and there was a cage, like the one that served as an elevator in their own house. As she didn't remember at first ... up and down the line ... This is exactly the fastest way to get up.

"Look! Look! There she is!" shouted Barrel running up to Lock, who was sitting on a rock and nervously twitching his tail. The devil turned quickly towards the balcony and saw Shock, who waved to him from above with the brooms in her hand.

"Get down now!" He shouted, jumping.

Shock nodded and assured herself that everything looked ok; she pulled the top door handle, but it didn't work ... the witch with a slight irritation pulled again ... and then another time ... and then ... "Damn," she cursed, jumping from the floor, which had just landed her a few feet away, hitting her back a third time that night. But then her eyes became attracted to something that made her forget the aching pain in the bruised place. She looked at the door handle, which she was now clutching in her hand, gradually realizing what had happened.

"What happened there?" asked Lock, noticing that Shock had not yet returned.

"I can't get out!" she shouted back, and tossed the "culprit of her imprisonment" to the ground.

Barrel picked it up and looked at Shock uncomprehendingly.

"What is it?"

"It's a door handle, but what's the difference? How do we help me escape?!"

"I don't know ... Maybe ... Hey, maybe you can fly on that same broom and take the other in your hand," Barrel suggested to her.

"No!" Shock squealed back, looking down.

"Why?" Lock didn't understand.

"I'm afraid!"

"What ?! You're a witch! How can you be afraid of this ?!"

"I'm afraid and that's it! And I'm afraid of heights, I'm scared too!Get me out of here!!!" Whined Shock. It was unlikely that at any other time she would have confessed to this, but now, when she was so quickly panicked, it was scary just to be here.

"She'll have to jump, there's no other option ..." muttered Barrel.

"Yeah, but she won't want to ..." Lock replied worriedly.

"We can't do it any other way ... I told you that the rope ladder will come in handy."

"Ugh. Again with the ladder, Barrel? We also have a rope, but she somehow won't take it, and the rope ladder would be all the more ... Hey,-" he turned to Shock. "Come on, you throw us the brooms, then you'll jump yourself, and we'll catch you."

"No...You can't ! I won't!"

"Otherwise you won't ever get down from there! Stop whining! When I get on the broom, tell me when."

Shock mentally collected the events of this evening; all of her life spent with Lock and Barrel, and shook her head.

"Well...you- then we'll stretch the sack, so you can land directly on it. I promise that this time everything will be fine. Come on."

Lock and Barrel poured out all the weapons and contents from the bag and pulled it by the ends.

She looked down. "My head is spinning...but there's nothing else to do..." She threw the brooms. Her partners caught them. Now her only hope was that she wouldn't fall to her death in bits and pieces. She stood over the railing, closed her eyes tight, and jumped ...

Lock and Barrel in time pulled the bag to the left. Successfully. Shock pushed away from the middle of her fall and again found herself in the air, but not so far from the ground. Lock threw the sack and ran to the place where it was supposed to catch Shock; he absurdly extended his arms and for some reason closed his eyes, because of what he guessed only a few centimeters were missed, he understood this by the sound that usually occurs as a result of the impact of a body on the ground ... and the loud girlish cry that followed it.

"Loooocckkk !!! Fuck you!" the witch screamed, sitting on her knees and hitting her fists on the ground. She threw a malicious glance at Lock, who could not help laughing. "Well, you really need some flying lessons now!"

"Do not. Do not!! Even!!! Say it!!!" Unintentionally, the devil came to his senses and shook his hands.

Quite frisky, for just having fallen to the ground from a height of several meters, Shock jumped to her feet and began to beat Lock, who defended as best he could.

"You promised you would catch me! Why did you release the bag ?!"

"Cause I thought It was necessary for you to use a broom, like a normal witch, and you were scared. 'Help, I'm scared, I'm afraid of heights!'"

"Good morning, I'm six years old!You think someone taught me to use it or that I should be able to do this from birth?!" "Well...I myself would at least try to jump without getting scared..." Lock replied. Shock stamped her foot offendedly. "The brooms are already with us. Satisfied? And I'm not going anywhere." Lock made a face.

"But... does it hurt?" He asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Of course not!"

"Hey, Guys..." Barrel pointed to the outline of Dr. Finkelstein's far-sighted laboratory.

"Yeah yeah, we're already going," Lock replied grimly, pushing the witch aside and taking the bag from Barrel's hands.

Shock only snorted and limped, heading with her dumb cohorts to the laboratory.

"You said that you remember where this thing is," Shock addressed Lock with irritation in her voice ... They had already walked around the whole laboratory a hundred times searching for a device over which the painstaking work of Dr. Finkelstein had been conducting for the past several months.

"And I also know, this doctor freak put it in that box. I saw it exactly when I was watching." Lock pointed to a small box next to where Shock was standing.

"Well? Did you take a good look at what was inside of there?"

"It was closed."

"So can ..."

"Wait, I'll check it again..." Shock rolled her eyes, and then pretended that she was examining some kind of car control panel, glancing sideways at Lock.

The devil went to the box and picked it up. It turned out to be not as heavy as it looked at first glance, therefore, Lock began to twist it and examine it with ease until he came across a big red button next to what was a curved round hole with barbed wires sticking out of it ... here, it came to him. He pressed the button, and out came the device.

"Here It is! Who's the idiot now huh!?"

"Today is a day of discovery, right?"

"So This is the gadget thing!" Barrel exclaimed.

"Interesting, and it looks very dangerous ..." Shock grinned, approaching Lock.

"Hmm.. I don't know. But when they finally come back for it, we will definitely find out..." Lock stretched his blue lips in a smile and put the dynamite in the box.

"Maybe for now, we should..." he ran to the panel with some buttons and pressed one of them. "...have fun?"

Shock just giggled in response and pulled the lever on the same panel. Above their heads, the hook attached to the device functioned like a lifting crane of the invention that whizzed and stopped abruptly. The Bandits viciously burst out laughing. They had repeatedly tried to destroy the laboratory of the doctor, so they had time to study almost all of the functions of these incredible devices before them, which helped them do the job faster.

First, they broke all the flasks and vessels that lay on the floor, oozing out their contents badly, then the window, then, picking up some metal pipe off the ground, began to break the fragile-looking future designs of the doctor's projects, which apparently were under development.

Chaos and devastation would continue until the amused cohorts were distracted by Barrel.

"I climbed on everything. These are the things that we wanted to get from Sally." The mutant boy unclenched his hands in which lay a few coils of thread and needles.

Lock and Shock came closer.

"Well done. I think that's everything.." Shock justified.

"I even looked at the potion's ingredients."Barrel continued.

"And the sleeping pills? I heard they're well hidden...You got them?"

Lock waved his hand to reveal the pills. "We've got all of that too."

"Then let's go ahead! We have the last of everything ... Right?"

"Well done, guys! We're close the time of the meeting, it's always been the same to me. Of course, the mayor never uses his loudspeaker to remind anybody," muttered Lock as they hid behind the mayor's car in the main square, watching what was happening.

"And what am I? " Barrel asked, trying to entertain his cohorts in a serious situation by making shadows with his fingers in the mayor's car light. "An idiot". Lock replied. Shock interrupted, "Um.. By the way, you two, the plan was coming up with getting away with everything very easily, but I have not yet thought about at all..."

"That's it... You went and did it this time, didn't you witch? Thinking all this time about this whole big plan, and now we have to think of how to get out of it," said Lock, turning to Shock.

"Er, where did they go?" Shock then asked, trying to spot the core of the meeting and where the citizens were moving to.

"I don't know...We shouldn't argue too much anymore... It distracts us."

Lock poked his head out of the shelter and looked around the area, which was lit by several torches and filled with residents of all ages, discussing with each other about their personal offers and wishes for the holiday. Jack and the Mayor stood on the stage, or rather, on a rectangular little hill that was built every year for this large-scale meeting, talking about absolutely everything except the Boogeyman, even Lock, Shock and Barrel, who usually ignored such "events" . The devil again looked at the Mayor, who happily conversed with Jack ... Here, he noticed that the loudspeaker was lying on the edge of the stage, and obviously at the current moment, was not being used or needed for anyone.

It was a good chance, so Lock did not hesitate to run up to Barrel, grab his sleeve and jump over all the obstacles in the form of stones and hilltops, now and again getting out of the way of things as they quickly ran behind the stage and flew into something that gave a sudden cry.

"Do you even look where you're going!?" hissed Shock, pushing Lock from her and rising from the ground for the hundredth time that night.

"What the hell are you talking about ? Did you just forget that we work together?" Lock protested.

"No, I just ... just saw that the Mayor left his speaker unattended ... and thought that you needed to pick it up quickly ... so I didn't have time to say anything..."

Lock nervously shook his head, pushed Shock to the side and approached Barrel.

"Look, man. It's up to you. If they notice us, everything ... The plan is a goner. Do you understand? You just need to grab the speaker... and it's all good."

Barrel nodded. He could steal way more swiftly than Lock and Shock could , so in such cases, they asked ... *ahem* ... Forced him to do it, for which he was actually very proud of...the truth was actually the fact that he got most of his skills from Jack too, after months of copying his ghostlike charms and movements and looking up to him.

Barrel crept to the very edge of the stage, but at the last moment stopped and sneezed loudly. Jack and the Mayor turned around. Shock gasped, but Lock closed her mouth with his hands and pulled her behind a large boulder.

Barrel pressed close to the stage. Jack stood almost next to him and looked around, but as he did not look down, he saw no one.

"What is it?" Asked the Mayor, whose face changed from merry to frightened.

"It seems to be nothing... Oh well, It must be just the wind," Jack said, returning to his former place, gesturing for the residents to silence.

Barrel exhaled, reached out for the loudspeaker and grabbed it.

"I got it!" he shouted, running up to Shock and Lock, who immediately shut him up.

"Well! Everything has been collected...now we can go back..." Lock whispered.

"No...We still need to pick up the bag, which you, apparently, left near the car ..." Shock pointed out.

"Yeah, and we also wanted to put a firecracker on the Mayor's chair!" added Barrel.

They mischievously, but very quietly giggled and skipped off to finish things up.

The morning after city meetings has always been stressful for Jack Skellington, at least the last hundred years ... exactly. There were still many voices in his head, but his thoughts did not come in order; everything had to be carefully considered. Ahead was a difficult day. In the meantime, the weak rays of the sun did not illuminate the spiral hill, and there was a dead silence all around, because of the cold air that pierced to the bones, And Jack did not want to remain dead even on the street, He could rest a bit at home before starting to work again. After stepping over the threshold of the house, Jack felt a slight satisfaction and Anticipation of the long-awaited rest he was about to lie down in ... but then, at the door there was a frantic knock. Jack, making a stern face, opened the door.

"What happened?" He asked, raising his voice. Under the door of the Pumpkin King, vampires, witches, and the Mayor crowded together; even Dr Finkelstein brought himself, his wheelchair moved by Sally, whom he usually never let go of in certain times of need. All of them, as well as at the meeting, rustled and waved their hands with something heinous to tell.

"Quiet!!!!" Shouted Jack. "Not all at once! Explain to me what is happening, but in order."

"Someone stole our umbrellas and laid THESE down instead!" The vampires said at the same time, showing the firecrackers.

"Our brooms were also taken!" one witch croaked, revealing the surprises left by the trinity.

"My LoudSpeaker is gone! Jack, we must immediately find the kidnappers and return it!" said the two-faced Mayor in a panic.

Skellington looked around the crowd and noticed that almost all of them were covered in some confetti, in the form of black and orange pumpkins.

"Jack," Dr. Finkelstein said quietly, driving through the crowd in his old wheelchair. "The device is gone," he also pointed to the cracker in Sally's hand, which was the only one that was never put into action.

Jack tiredly sank down the stairs, he already knew whose hands it was that committed this crime. The appearance of the trinity in the city almost always promised a headache, but he mostly feared for the invention of the Doctor. It was not clear to Jack why they always did this to the innocent townsfolk: just to have fun and act like the kids they were, or for Oogie, who Jack knew did not bode well with him. He got up and said in a loud voice:

"Citizens, be quiet!" Do not worry! It's only the mere tricks of Lock Shock and Barrel! We will immediately go to them and return all of your belongings."

"But they are serving the Boogeyman, Jack," the Mayor said fearfully.

"You have nothing to fear, Mayor." I'll decide everything, "Jack said calmly and with confident steps, heading a string of other residents, headed for the house of the three hooligans.

Yesterday's night was long and hard for Lock, Shock and Barrel, so when they returned home, they simply threw a sack of looted goods on the floor and quickly fell asleep. Lock woke up first because someone was talking loudly under their windows, which made him look around. Barrel lay on the other side of the sofa, and a sack was lying on the floor, where next to it was a weapon and a rope.

"Get up. It seems they came," the devil said, rubbing his eyes. He went to the door of Shock's room and tried to open it, but something was immediately resting against the door that was blocking it. He again pushed it with all his might.

"Yes, I'm awake!! Why are you pushing me!?" the voice of the hostess of the room was heard.

"Heh, Couldn't get to the bed?"

"I wanted to ... but what's the difference, you idiot? ... the floor is even softer...nice black carpet," answered Shock. "What's happening out there?" She asked, hearing the voices outside.

"Ooh ! I see Jack, the vampires, witches, the mayor, Sally and Finkelstein," Barrel grinned.

Lock and Shock looked at each other and ran to the window.

"Hey, Jack!" Shouted Lock .

"Good morning, Jack!" Hailed Shock.

"How are you, Jack?" Barrel pushed his friends from the window and waved at all of them. Jack, speaking something to the townspeople, turned around.

"It was quite pleasant until I had to meet you three this morning. I want you to immediately return what was stolen from the townspeople."

"Stole what?" Lock wondered with surprise at his friends, pretending to shrug.

"It seems that we didn't steal anything, except that we only lent it."

Shock and Barrel nodded. Jack folded his bony arms across his chest and looked severely at them.

"Well, why did you lend them then?" He asked, deciding to go from a different maneuver, realizing that, apparently, they would not give anything away, unless they were intimidated, which he usually always limited.

"You see, Jack ... times are tough right now, nothing just goes right for us," Lock continued.

"Yeah, especially you, really." Jack replied confidently on behalf of the town.

"But Jack, you know what we're talking about." said Shock, blinking her little eyes.

"Do you at least understand what you've done? In my city, I will not allow stealing! Return everything, quickly!"

Skellington walked closer to the window of the house, and thanks to his long bony legs, he was almost on the same level with the trio, his face showing a menacing grin. This caused the bandits to snuggle up to each other in fright.

"Okay, we'll give it all back!" Lock said.

"Y-yes, but not for nothing!" Shock said. When Jack wasn't looking, Shock hit Lock and nodded to him towards the device of Dr. Finkelstein, which was lying on the floor next to them.

"Well, I don't think so! It's illegal to steal in my city. Admit that you stole everything, because you are working for Oogie Boogie, and because he ordered you to do it!" He exclaimed, poking a thin finger in the direction of the trio.

"We don't work, we have fun! Shouted Lock, grinning.

"And we win our own games!" Exclaimed Shock, showing him the device. "Do you recognize this, Jack?" She asked seemingly innocently, catching a note of shock on his face. "And we will use it, if you don't listen to us!"

Jack stepped aside and looked at Doctor Finkelstein.

"Didn't you hear us ?!" shouted Barrel threateningly, snatching various inventions and running up to the window. "We'll use it!"

Lock, Shock and Barrel smiled teasingly, waving the main device from side to side.

"Don't you even dare!" Cried the Doctor. "Otherwise you'll regret it! It is not finalized!!!"

But the hooligans didn't seem to hear anything, they continued to run around with the device and giggle.

Lock stopped abruptly in front of the window, because of Shock accidentally slamming into him, and Barrel into her. The first two fell, but the chubby boy caught the device flying out of Shock's hands at the last minute and pressed the red button. At first nothing happened, but after a minute a sound filled the air; a thin, cutting and jagged tone. It was heard in the ears of the dead and alive, destroying the morning silence like a siren. They wanted to leave, to escape, but there was nowhere to escape, and everyone plugged their ears as best they could, although this didn't help much as the obnoxious sound creeped though their ear passages.

"How can I turn it off?!" Shouted Jack, leaning towards the creator of this horrible subject.

" There is no way! No switch!!! I said that it has not been finalized!"

Jack looked at the Doctor with horror.

As soon as the device began to work, Barrel threw it to the floor in front of Lock.

"How can we turn it off?!" Lock asked Shock.

"What?!! I can't hear you!!!!" she shouted back, pressing her hands to her ears.

Lock pulled her by the elbow and yelled into her ear:

"HOW DO WE TURN IT OFF ?! THERE IS ONLY ONE BUTTON! WHAT SHOULD WE DO?!"

He gave her the device. She looked around in confusion. She did not know what to do, so she did not find anything better than to throw the device to the floor with all her might. Suddenly, the device uttered a strange sound and disconnected.

Lock and Shock looked at each other.

"You're a genius," he whispered.

"How did you do that?" Barrel asked in surprise.

"I ... I just," she waved her hand, copying what she had just done, then, in a happy motion she successfully waved her hand.

Those standing on the street exhaled with relief and looked back at the trio's house.

"Ugh! All of my hard work by the hour, destroyed thanks to these imbeciles!" Finklestein said disappointedly.

"Don't be discouraged, doc, you can probably do it again." Jack patted the scientist on the shoulder encouragingly.

"Oh, no! To hell with it, Jack! I'll make another invention! And this time, I'll start with the switch!!"

"Alright," Jack said with a chuckle. "Jack...?" He then turned to the bandits who looked at him with fear.

"And now," he said sternly, and stretching out his long arms, he took all three of them by the collar and placed them on the ground. "It's time to understand that all games come to an end. And this one too. Now...tell me why you did it."

"It's was Barrel's idea!!!" Exclaimed Lock.

"Yes! It's all him!!" Shock added.

"But ... hey ..." Barrel tried to defend himself.

"You should be ashamed, you blockhead!"

"But we're all together on this here ... we really didn't receive any orders from Oogie , we wanted to steal all the things for candy, because our stash is completely gone...that's all ..."

"Yeah, we just didn't have anything to eat!" said Lock, obviously exaggerating.

"Forgive us, Jack, we were just pulling your leg..." Shock told him.

"We will never do it again!"

"Oh please." The townsfolk folded their arms in an imploring gesture and made plaintive faces, not believing the trio for a second.

"Okay, okay," Skellington laughed, softening his tone. "Bring everything here quickly. Alright?"

They nodded. Jack put them down, and then turned to the vampires:

"Bring them a bag of chocolates, so be it."

When Lock, Shock and Barrel dropped all the stolen items, Jack gave them a sack in return.

"I will offer you these sweets, but that does not mean that you are not punished. You are not allowed to appear in the city for a month, understand? And this punishment can only be canceled by me. Consider disobeying, and you will eat Halloweentown's finest moldy broccoli with Brussel sprouts for the rest of your life."

"Eeeewwww..." Moaned the trio in unison, making such disgusted faces that they were afraid to look at themselves at that moment.

"All right, Jack...as you say," Lock said.

"Of course, Jack," Barrel nodded.

"I'll personally see to it, Jack." Shock pretended to coo. Her lips curled in disgust nonetheless.

They simultaneously put one hand behind their backs, crossing their fingers.

"Then it's settled," Jack said, turning and walking behind the rest of the townspeople, not noticing the last gesture.

"A naive moron, he always believes us," said Shock, smiling her witchy smile and laughing.

Lock also laughed, and Barrel took a candy out of the bag and joined in the fun.

"And where are we going to get this rubbish?" Lock asked, taking the appliance out of his pocket.

"And what to think? For now, we'll give Oogie Boogie what he needs ... well, or what he will throw out ... in a pinch."

"That's a great idea.. we'll go right now!" Shock stated excitedly.

"Yeah!" Barrel followed them.

Lock and Shock ran to the door of The Boogeyman and knocked. He answered almost immediately.

"Well, you little troublemakers , whatcha got for me? " he asked.

"We just wanted to give something back," said Shock, smiling.

"And what is it?" Oogie asked, taking his friends in his arms.

"It's Dr. Finkelstein's device," Lock said, handing the invention over to Oogie.

"Jack broke it. He's very stupid, isn't he?" said Shock with a smirk.

"Only the most stupid skeleton in the whole town!! Ha-ha!! And that fool was always like this... However, this does not come in handy for me," he said, taking the device and throwing it into a pile of junk.

"Mr. Oogie Boogie!" Lock called.

"What?"

"Can you teach us how to play cards? You promised! And we've done so much for today."

"The cards? I suppose you are not too small..." he laughed.

"No, we're already adults!" Barrel shouted proudly.

"Yes! Teach me!!!" Shock snapped.

"Well, then you kids are in luck 'cause that's as it should be," boomed the Boogeyman, walking into the house and glancing at the device that glared back at him in the distance.


End file.
